tell
Primary: verbCan function as: verb, noun
Can function as a noun in specific contexts like 'tell-tale' or gambling contexts
🔊 Pronunciation
/tel/
Syllables: tell
Stress: single syllable
Simple pronunciation, rarely causes difficulties
👨👩👧👦 Word Family
| Word Class | Forms |
|---|---|
| Verbs | tell, tells, telling, told |
| Nouns | teller, telling, tell-tale |
| Adjectives | telling, tell-tale |
| Adverbs | tellingly |
Forms compound words like 'tell-tale', 'fortune-teller'
🎯 Verb Forms
| Infinitive: | to tell |
| Base form: | tell |
| 3rd person singular: | tells |
| Past simple: | told |
| Past participle: | told |
| Present participle: | telling |
| Gerund: | telling |
Note: Irregular past/past participle form: told
📖 Meanings & Definitions
Noun Meanings
1
a distinguishing feature or characteristic that reveals something
Countability: countable
“The slight tremor in his voice was a tell that he was nervous”
Common collocations: dead tell, obvious tell
Synonyms: giveaway, sign, indicator
informalgambling/poker
Verb Meanings
1
to communicate information, facts, or ideas in words
“She told me about her new job”
“Can you tell me the time?”
Synonyms: inform, relate, communicate
neutral
2
to order or instruct someone to do something
“The teacher told us to be quiet”
“My boss told me to finish it by Friday”
Synonyms: order, instruct, direct
neutral
3
to distinguish or determine
“I can't tell the difference between these two colors”
“Can you tell if it's going to rain?”
Synonyms: distinguish, determine, discern
neutral
🔧 Verb Patterns
tell + object + that-clause
“She told me that she was leaving”
Note: Very common pattern
tell + object + to-infinitive
“The doctor told me to rest”
Note: Used for instructions/commands
tell + object + wh-clause
“Can you tell me where the station is?”
Note: Common in questions and indirect questions
Transitivity
Type: transitive
Passive possible: Yes
Passive examples:
“I was told to wait here”
“The truth was finally told”
🤝 Collocations
Verb + Noun
⚠️ Common Errors
❌ He told to me about his trip→✓ He told me about his trip
Tell is never followed by 'to' before the indirect object
Common for: Common in languages where indirect objects require dative marking
Medium impact
❌ Can you tell me where is the bank?→✓ Can you tell me where the bank is
Word order in indirect questions
❌ She told she was happy→✓ She told me she was happy
Tell requires an object (who is being told)
🌍 Etymology
Origin: Old English 'tellan'
Original meaning: “to count, reckon, consider”
Development: Evolved from counting to narrating to general communication
Related words in other languages: German 'zählen' (to count)
📊 Register & Frequency
Frequency: top 500 words
Spoken: very common
Written: common
Academic: common
Business: common
Formality: neutral